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Verse of the Day

Det 6:4-9 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates

Youth

Updates

Abraham is a young man from Huayllabamba, Paucartambo, 2 hours from Cusco
City.

He is still studying Grade 3 of secondary education outside of Cusco.

When he finishes his secondary
education, he wants to be tour guide. Thus, he wants to learn English and is coming on Wednesdays
to learn and practice English with Casa del Maestro.

Casa del Maestro connects youth with
job opportunities so that young people can earn money while still studying. For
now, Abraham is part of gardening team in his free times. With the money he
earns he can buy school supplies and his school uniform.

Jusmiel, Josh for short, is a young
man who dreams of being a lawyer and is committed to this dream.He is studying at a preparatory academy in
order to take the national university’s entrance exam. The competition is
strong.1000+ students take the exam in
hopes of earning one of the 20 spaces available for the law program; sometimes
young people must try for 1-3 years.Josh has been trying for two years, having taken the exam about six
times. Besides the public university, which is free, there are many private
universities that have extremely high tuition fees.The high costs makes it inaccessible for many
Cusco youth despite the significantly lower competition and fewer requirements.

Josh is part of a gardening team, working
with Abraham, in his free times. While he is preparing to enter the university,
he is earning money that helps with his daily expenses of food and
transportation.

Casa del Maestro is helping him prepare
mentally and emotionally for the exam.We have talked to him about text anxiety which he seems to have.And, we have given him better study
strategies.He is also attending English
practice classes on Wednesday evenings.

Vilma is from the jungle of Cusco state,
a village called Pilcopata, which is 8
hours by bus. She wants to be a nurse. Right now she is looking at different
options to study, whether she will attend a private institute or will apply for
Beca 18 (a scholarship offered by the Peruvian government).

For now she lives with her aunt in Cusco
city and works part time at The Meeting Place (a restaurant run by missionaries
in order to reach the tourists). Vilma is happy in the job. She works with Clariza, the kitchen manager,
who is from the same province. Vilma is learning how to prepare American foods
like waffles. They both enjoy the
family-like work environment.

While she is deciding where and what
to study, she wants to learn English and is coming on Wednesdays to learn and
practice English with Casa del Maestro.

We are so happy to be a coach for them
and see them succeed when for the first time these very capable youth are given
a chance to shine with a little help.
They are smiling, happy, and dedicated in these new opportunities.

Part of our job in these next few months is to advertise La Casa del Maestro. Being a new ministry, youthdon't know we exist. What better way to spread the news than to speak at a youth conference attended by 600? The first week of January the youth from the Cusco Maranata church came as far away as the jungle area of Cusco. The leaders invited Albino, our executive director and his mother-in-law, Pastor Mary, to participate one afternoon. After recounting the stories of Esther, from the Bible, and Nadia, a young woman who is a rescued victim of human trafficking, Pastor Mary's "take-away" was that God is always at work and is ready to rescue us. After translating for his mother-in-law, Albino shared the vision and mission of La Casa, details of what we have to offer, and made sure the youth had our contact information. Our guess is that at least 2/3 of the youth that heard the message will make their way to Cusco city in hopes of bettering their lives. We have already received several phone calls from the youth asking for assistance with a government scholarship program offered here in Peru.

One of the greatest challenges an
indigenous youth encounters in his or her transition to Cusco is
employment. CdM wants to help youth find
gainful employment where they will not be exploited or abused. Unfortnately there are too many stories of
them teenages girls being mistreated in the homes where they cook and clean for
wealthier families. Young men are not paid fair wages or are forced to work
many hours in a day. Thus, we are in the
business of looking for jobs or creating jobs where the young men and women can
earn a good employment and be safe while doing it. CdM is currently working on the following
possibilities: a bakery, carpentry work,
and mechanic/car repair. Please pray for
our conversations with the people who are in these businesses, that they would
be open to discipling a youth or two and for creative ways to aid both the
business people and the youth.

Beca 18 is a scholarship offered
by the Peruvian government to underprivileged students who are seeking to start
their college and vocational education.
Though limited to certain career paths, the scholarship pays for all
living and educational expenses the student may incur during their
studies. The registration/application
for this scholarship is open now and the entrance tests occurs
mid-December. The list of requirements
and documentation is long. The
difficulty is knowing what to provide as evidence and how to obtain each
document needed. There is also some
confusion about where students must apply.

As CdM we are investigating more
about this incredible opportunity for the youth that La Casa del Maestro seeks
to serve. Our executive director,
Albino, has searched online, visited local municipalities, and talked with
those at the Beca 18 office in order to learn more. Armed with the information, CdM aims to serve
as a reference point for the many indigenous youth who will be applying in the
next few weeks, helping to ease the confusion of legal paperwork that is tricky
for anyone to manage.

One season I worked hauling telephone poles up the mountain. It was hard, grueling labor. The day all the men went to be paid, I received 1/3 less payment than the others, even though I had made the same quota they did. I had nowhere to turn or way to claim the money I had rightfully earned. -boy, 17

I moved into the city to study secondary school. I lived with my aunt and her husband. But after awhile what was supposed to be a safe place was not. My uncle came in the nights to take advantage of me. He said it was because I owed him money for my room and board. I had no one to turn to, no extra money to move out on my own. I didn’t have my parents to help. I don’t want this to happen to any other girl. -girl, 14

I found a job caring for the elderly in an apartment; I received room and board and all my money could go to my studies. Then on day the bosses told me they closed the facility and moved the patients. I was out on the streets with no food or even bus fare to return home to my community and my family. -girl, 16

A main priority for us is to find
an office space—a location where pastors, friends, organizations, and others
can direct the indigenous youth to find
the services that La Casa del Maestro has to offer. Prior, all business has been completed in
board members’ homes or in area churches; events have been held outside or the
churches. Now we are ready to expand and
have a permanent office with office hours.
With little to no income we have limited options. Right now, we are following three possible
leads with two other non-profits and one business. Please pray with us for the
right location and right price for rent.

I grew up in a Christian home and felt called to serve God since childhood. One day, a Christian brother, who is now in the United States [Albino Rodriguez], helped me understand the true love of God and that God has a purpose for my life. But I didn’t give it much more thought because I was busy finishing secondary school, trying to get into the university, and just like my peers, start my career.

A little while later, I was sitting in church crying because I did not get into college. God spoke directly to my heart, breaking it. I fell to my knees, and He reminded me of the purpose that He had for me since I was a child. When I got up, I was determined to join God in His work.

This calling created a great desire to preach God’s word. Because of this joy I started to study in the local seminary without knowing where this would lead me. One day I met an American missionary that worked in another region of Peru. He asked me if I was willing to travel far for the love of God and to be in His service.

The day arrived, and I had to say goodbye; I cried it was so difficult to leave my family. I was going to live in another culture, with a different language and a different family, so far away from my own home.

I am 23 years old now. My name is Aydee Margarita Meza Sánchez, and I am working full time in service of our Lord. I do it all with great joy and love. I live with the American missionary family. God blessed me with a new family in them, especially when I miss my own family. Today I am filled with a deep love to reach those who need to know God’s love. In the future I want to continue working for the Lord and have a family of my own.